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(L,M,P)
"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him." (Ephesians 1:17)
Several years ago, I read an unforgettable Civil War novel called A Stillness at Appomatox.* I do not recall that as an altogether pleasant experience. The novel tells, with probably a high degree of accuracy, the story of an important historical event. But a sense of contagious futility permeates the narrative and infects the reader. You are made to feel the deep frustration of soldiers fighting a brutal and miserable war, often unable to comprehend the meaning of their sacrifice, and directed by generals and political leaders they never saw. In some respects, that is all too reminiscent of the war that would occupy our nation 100 years later!
But, I had another thought as I finished the novel. I remember thinking at the time, "Isn't it great that soldiers of Christ never need feel that way?" Our cause is not meaningless! Our leader is not a stranger! We have a cause we believe in very deeply. And we have a leader who is known to us. Our leader is God. And he revealed himself in Jesus. That is the testimony of this morning's Scripture.
*Bruce Catton, A Stillness at Appomatox (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1953).
-- Campbell
"That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him." (Ephesians 1:17)
Several years ago, I read an unforgettable Civil War novel called A Stillness at Appomatox.* I do not recall that as an altogether pleasant experience. The novel tells, with probably a high degree of accuracy, the story of an important historical event. But a sense of contagious futility permeates the narrative and infects the reader. You are made to feel the deep frustration of soldiers fighting a brutal and miserable war, often unable to comprehend the meaning of their sacrifice, and directed by generals and political leaders they never saw. In some respects, that is all too reminiscent of the war that would occupy our nation 100 years later!
But, I had another thought as I finished the novel. I remember thinking at the time, "Isn't it great that soldiers of Christ never need feel that way?" Our cause is not meaningless! Our leader is not a stranger! We have a cause we believe in very deeply. And we have a leader who is known to us. Our leader is God. And he revealed himself in Jesus. That is the testimony of this morning's Scripture.
*Bruce Catton, A Stillness at Appomatox (Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co., Inc., 1953).
-- Campbell
